Winter Blossom
by CLDJendis66
Summary: When Adrien accidentally overhears Marinette talking about a particular scarf, what will he do about it? The snowy weather has arrived, but with it brings a number of awkward encounters and curious adventures.
1. Chapter 1

Speckles of white lightly fell onto the window sills outside of Marinette's classroom with hardly a whisper into the air. This weather always mesmerized because of how calm it could be and of how it always felt like there were endless opportunities like-

"Psst!"

She looks over to her best friend Alya, a journalist persona, but with good heart. "What?"

Alya points forward to the entrance of the class.

The door opened and in walked in Marinette's ray of sunshine: _Adrien_.

Her heart flutters in seeing him wearing a leather buttoned coat while dusted in snow.

The moment lasted only for so long when Chloe jumped him with a kiss to the cheek the moment he took off his coat, yet in doing so...

She spotted the scarf she'd given him for his birthday. She faces conflict in her emotions: part of her wants to reveal that she made it, while the other refuses to remove the joy he has in wearing it, believing it's from his father. Regardless, it leaves her happy to see him using it again.

Not blushing from this is all together too difficult to accomplish as usual, which leads to Alya helping her out by distracting her. Marinette can't help but wonder where she'd be without the support of such a great friend and smiles as she hears about the new events posted on the Ladybug Vlog.

Work was inevitable to do in class, but whenever there was a moment of freedom, Marinette would look up to take a peek at her crush and sigh happily to herself. Her best friend would look at her with amused understanding.

It seemed forever until lunch time came and since it was cold, most people wanted to eat inside the cafeteria. Though, she and Alya preferred the opposite and as they headed towards the benches, Chloe interrupted their peace. "Ugh! Are you stupid? Good luck eating icicles of your food."

As much as both wanted to put duct tape on her mouth, they just groaned quietly on their way when Nino came over with Adrien to ask them something, "Hey guys, we were wondering if you were available tomorrow."

Marinette was too busy blushing to properly answer when Alya said, "Yeah, what's up?"

"Awesome! Well, Adrien hasn't ever played in the snow before," he mentioned as Adrien smiled sheepishly with a hand behind his head, "and I thought it'd be great if we show him what he's missing."

Alya's eyes twinkled with excitement for two reasons: she loved playing in the snow and it was a great opportunity for Marinette to be with Adrien. Happily she responded with, "That's a lovely idea Nino! We should go to the Parc des Buttes Chaumont."

"I was thinking the same," he added with a grin.

"What time would be best for you?"

"Hm, is 9 O'clock in the morning alright? We need all the time we can get for this guy," he declared as he pointed with his thumb at his best friend behind him.

"Nino!"

"Sure, sure. We'll see you then!" she agreed before dragging her overwhelmingly gleeful best friend towards the benches.

It was then that Marinette finally reacted and was freaking out about how she felt so blessed.

Alya couldn't help but tease her. "Maybe he'll wear another nice looking coat."

The redness that crept onto her bestie's face was priceless.

Her blush was cut short when she realized she had planned to do an errand tomorrow. "Oh! I forgot I was gonna get some materials tomorrow..."

"Whoops, I should've remembered, but the chance was too good to miss. We can do this afterschool. The shop doesn't close till 8 P.M. right?"

"Yeah, I'll just let Mama and Papa know. Mind coming with me or do you wanna meet up there with me?"

"I can't just leave you alone with your clumsiness."

Marinette felt the harshness of her words shoot through her heart. "So cruel..."

Alya laughed as her crimson haired shook off the light snow caught in it.

Marinette proceeded to take a bite out her warm lunch that her parents had prepped for her before getting excited in drinking some of their special hot chocolate. She tilted her head back, knocking off some snow from her own cobalt blue haired, and sighed happily at the taste. It was light, yet powerfully hot and the aftertaste was enjoyable.

"Whoa girl, is that what I think it is?"

She nodded and handed over her thermos to Alya, who took a sip and was overwhelmed with joy too. "Your parents are so amazing. Oh! We should bring this tomorrow! I'm sure it'd be a great treat when it gets too cold."

"What do we do about lunch?"

"Hm...we could explore by trying a new place or we could go back to your house Marinette."

Her best friend seemed uncomfortable with the idea. "I don't know. My parents can be pretty intrusive, even if it's not in an extreme manner."

"Yeah, you told me about the time when Adrien came over, but still, he enjoyed their food."

"True, and even Nino likes it there right?"

"Yup," she replied before taking a bite out of her warm meal. "We can walk around the city afterwards and chat about random things while we improvise on what to do...Maybeeeeeee-I might accidentally leave you alone with Adrien."

Marinette nearly fainted. She's killing me with my own imagination.

"Uh-um-er-since it has hills, shouldn't we bring sleds?"

"I was trying to recall where I placed the extras in my house. I think they're in my parents' room. don't worry I should have enough and if not, Nino should be able to help on that. Didn't you have any extras Mari?"

"We did, but my parents lent them to a relative that has yet to return it to us, since they'd have to come from another country to do that."

"Ouch."

Lunch time passed quickly as they discussed on what was going to be purchased from the craft store when the bell rang for class to continue. They hurried back and wondered if it would snow on the way home.

It seemed forever to finish the last assignment of the day, but the freedom was refreshing when the cold air hit her in the face. "Ready to go Mari?"

"Yup," she answered as she got her phone out to check the time, yet in the same instant Chloe relentlessly walked over and knocked it out of her hands while having an angry discussion on the phone. It flew for a moment before landing somewhere in a pile of snow next to the staircase. Her jaw dropped in disbelief prior to scurrying over to dig it out, but she was struggling to find it, even when Alya came over to help and the current snowfall wasn't making it any easier.

Adrien and Nino had just reached the bottom of the steps when they heard Chloe laughing mischievously behind them with her best friend(/slave) Sabrina, which prompted them to turn around to see Alya and Marinette looking for something in the snow: both faces filled with concern. Immediately they came over and Adrien asked, "Are you both okay?"

"We're fine, but Marinette's phone might not be. Chloe knocked it over here and we can't seem to find it," she replied in pausing while Mari remained distracted scavenging the snow.

"We'll help!" declared Nino to which Adrien agreed with a nod. Alya smiled at their kindness, "You guys are the best! Alright, you both look over there and we'll continue here."

The search went on for several minutes until a shout of, "I found it!" came from where Adrien was. "Nice job Dude!" praised Nino. When Marinette looked up, it was only then did she notice that they were there and a blushed exploded onto her face as the boy of her dreams walked over to return her cell phone. "I would've checked if it still works, but I didn't want to intrude on your privacy in turning it on."

If there weren't enough reasons why she loved him, now there were. "Uh-um-thank! I mean- er- you thank! doh!" she said before doing a facepalm and finally managing to say, "I mean-T-Thank you."

"No problem," he replied as he held it out for her.

In receiving it, she quickly pressed the home button to see if the screen would turn on and when it did she jumped in joy. "Yay!"

Adrien smiled at her reaction. That suites her better than the worried face she had on moments ago. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard his driver honking the car a few times. "Whoops! Gotta go! I'll see you all tomorrow!"

Marinette hugged her phone as she happily sighed. Meanwhile, Nino and Alya secretly high fived each other at the accomplished unexpected moment that happened. For once, Chloe being bad didn't always mean an awful outcome.

Upon opening the door to the bakery, the scent of chocolate, sugar, and flour amongst the variety of flavors of the diverse pastries filled the atmosphere. "I'm home!"

"Marinette!" gleefully called her mother, who was at the register tending to a customer. "And Alya! So good to see you!"

Her father came over to give his precious child a kiss on the cheek and greeted her bestie. "Always a pleasure to see that Marinette has someone looking out for her."

"Papa!"

The red head with her dark wood brown skin, proudly accepted the comment before placing a hand on Marinette's shoulder. "She's totally worth the trouble."

"Hey!" she exclaimed before she focused her attention back to her parents. "We're gonna go to the craft store, so I can buy some supplies. We should be back in 3 hours."

"Alright Mari. Please be careful. Oh and here's some snacks for your little adventure."

"Mhm. Always and thank you for the snacks!" she responded as she smirked and held up her right hand in a peace sign.

In walking out, Alya prompted, "Are we taking the bus or the train?"

"Let's take the train."

"I'm guessing you wanna tell them when you get home?" probed Alya as they waited for their stop, with her phone in hand set for any Ladybug action to catch in the act. The other held a cookie she'd taken a bite out of.

"Of course, or else they get ahead of themselves," explained Marinette as her body drooped in frustrated exhaustion at what they were capable of.

"There there. You have me."

"Would there be a universe if you didn't exist?"

"The big bang theory would've never happened."

"Oh god that was awful."

"Admit it. It was great. Maybe not as good as Chat Noir, but I have my moments."

"I'm beginning to think his puns are contagious now."

They both laughed and continued by discussing what would be best to have for lunch from the bakery. When it was finally their stop, they quickly exited and heading up the staircase. "I mean it's hard to decide, since Mama and Papa are amazing at everything they make. I swear they can make vegetables look not scary to eat."

"Yeah, it's impressive what they pull off for orders."

Once they reached the top, it didn't take long to reach their destination. The doors slid open and warm air welcomed them inside. "The yarn section right?"

"Yup!"

Marinette happily skipped towards the aisle while Alya shook her head in disbelief at how childish she could be, but it was reassuring to see nonetheless, that her best friend trusted her with this side of her persona. There was a certain thing she was well aware of that Mari had never shared with her, which began around the time Adrien first came to their school. As good as the red head could be to pick the information out of Marinette, her intuition had implied that it'd be an unwise choice. It left her worried for the most part, but she kept her faith at 100% for the cobalt blue headed girl and hoped that one day she'd be able to tell her what she's been constantly working so hard to hide all this time.

"Alya?"

Without realizing it, she'd ignored her. "Sorry, I spaced out."

That's a first. I'm usually the one doing that. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine girl. Don't worry," she claimed as she waved her hand as if nothing was the matter. Marinette kept staring at her for a moment before she smirked in understanding. "Well, if anything's wrong, just tell me okay?"

"Understood," she vowed as Mari surprised her with a hug.


	2. Chapter 2

He could just order it online.

Easy.

But...

Adrien had a preference for doing mundane things, due to never having much of the opportunity to do so before he was permitted to go to public school. However, getting his gorilla sized driver off his tail always proved to be tricky. He sighed at how tired he felt from all that effort.

"You just looooove the hard way don't you Adrien?"

"Says the one who got a bracelet stuck on his head last I checked."

Plagg, his kwami, scoffed at his remark.

"Thought so."

"So what are you needing this time?"

"Just some refills for my pens."

"While you're at it, find something my size if you can. Hiding is one thing, but not being able to move freely in this weather is another."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll see what I can do."

He hadn't realized that minutes ago, Alya and Marinette had gotten off at the same stop he just arrived at, since they literally got to the top of the staircase as he approached it. When he had reached the store, he got distracted asking someone at the register where he could find what he needed and upon approaching the hallway in front of the aisles, the two had just entered the yarn aisle, which was the back of the aisle he was looking for and part of one end of the store.

In approaching it, he loosened his cyan scarf and started looking through the various refills. As he began picking out some choices he heard a familiar voice, "Now Mari, weren't you about to attack the yarn section with cat-like reflexes?" and his eyes widened with surprise.

"Oh my god Alya! I swear, you have been seriously infected by Chat."

He had to admit, that was actually pretty good.

"Seems like you have a reputation," teased Plagg as he popped out of his pocket to perch on his shoulder. His partner smiled shyly at the comment.

From the other side, the girls had burst into laughter and Mari had chosen some yarn when Alya encountered an epiphany moment. "That's right!"

"Huh?"

"I forgot to ask and I know this was a long while back, but when you made that scarf for him, how did you decide you would make it the way you did?"

Even though he didn't know who they were talking about, the blond was curious about her response too. "Eavesdropping huh?" whispered Plagg before Adrien signaled him to be quiet by placing a finger over his mouth.

Marinette blushed as she recalled the process of deciding how she'd go about with making it. It had been a rollercoaster trying to figure out if she ought to go all out or keep it simple. In the end she had gone with the latter, which had left her with the choice of color and material.

"Since it was my first gift, I think my approach was more towards what I felt he needed. Simple is always the best start for that, so I used the basic knitting pattern. In terms of color...oh god this is gonna sound embarrassing..." she paused before taking a deep breath, "Since he is compared best as sunshine, I thought a light blue would compliment his wonderfulness by being the sky that surrounds him."

The explanation wasn't finished, yet Adrien already was speechless at the lovely words that had escaped her lips.

"For the material, well, as much as people say cotton or wool is good to use, unless they're finely made, they tend to be itchy or cause some sort of allergy. Sounds dumb what I'm thinking right? Since hello? This is someone who models for a living, so of course they've come across a lot of materials."

He's perplexed. Is she talking about me?

"But...I didn't want to assume I knew him and give whatever. I really wanted to put my heart into making this, so I double checked and recalled that he was allergic to feathers. I didn't know if he had any other allergies and there was no way I could bring myself to ask him, so I chose acrylic as the material. It's the best choice for someone who is allergic to some things if not almost everything. I even made sure to find the softest one around here," she finished with glee.

"I wish you could tell him, since..."

Marinette's posture changed slightly to illustrate that the turn of events that day had left her sad in that he'd never know she made it for him. However, "If from this distance, I can do this much and more for him as a friend, then I'll work with that..." she mentions as she hugs the materials she had picked earlier. "Besides, I turn into a wreck when I try and be more direct with him..."

The more times he put together the clues in her explanation, the more it summed up to him. No. The Marinette that struggled to say one sentence in his presence had always this much to say to him?

"Oh Mari," he hears Alya say to her. "You are too amazing."

"Huh? How?"

At this, Adrien shakes his head in disbelief and immediately decides to put distance between them and himself by heading over to the other end of the store.

"You okay Adrien?"

"Not sure Plagg, but I'm fine enough to get you a large camembert when we get home."

"YES!"

He laughed and focused on finding something small enough for his kwami to wear. He encouraged him to hide before going to the register again to ask for some guidance.

"Anything catch your interest here Plagg?" he questioned as he stood in front of the selection of doll clothing. The sable kwami popped out from his mobile home and took a look. "Blegh! Is this all they have?"

"Unfortunately."

"Fantastic..."

"Well, just pick something for now and we'll try again later."

"Meh."

He rolls his eyes at the stubbornness of his companion in crime. "Fine. But don't whine about being in that pocket again."

"Meh," he repeats as Adrien makes a facepalm.

"Soooo do you think this'll be okay Mari?" asked Alya as she held some green yarn she selected using her best friend's advice. The cobalt blue haired girl looked up as her pigtails swung down and smiled. "Yeah, I'm sure that'll be enough."

"I hope he likes it. I mean I'd get him music, but he already has access to that."

Marinette giggled. "I think I have everything I need too."

The red head's face turns to complete bewilderment at the sight of what she had picked out. "Uuhhh...girl are you making a blanket, or a lot of scarves for the class?"

Her face sprouted another giant patch of tomato red from the embarrassment of the amount she was going to purchase amongst the separate pile for smaller projects. It was a giant mass of night blue next to some various sized needles and little bundles of numerous colors. "What are you planning?"

"N-n-n-n-nothing! Just-uh-seeing if it can even-uh-pan out!" she practically shouted to where Alya had to move back a bit from going deaf all of a sudden. "Come on. I'm your best friend."

She sighed in defeat and whispered into her ear her rough plan.

"What?!"

"Shhhhhhhhh!"

"Oh my god Mari. You are too clever for your own good sometimes."

"Hey, hey, don't give me credit yet. I'm not even sure if it'll work because of some loopholes."

"Like?" she asked as they started making their way to the register. "Oh, you mean Miss Entitled?"

"Mhm," answered her bestie as she nodded sadly.

"That is a toughie."

The falling snow was welcoming to Adrien's face after feeling so bewildered in hearing Marinette speak like that. It had even made him blush how she went into depth of speaking of him as a friend. I mean Nino is my best friend and I already consider Alya as a friend too, but Marinette...was my first friend. Where was his mind to not notice this development?

In arriving home, he scurried to the kitchen to steal the promised cheese and hid away in his room to work on physics. Plagg surfaced from his pocket and breathed in freedom happily before giving attention to his precious Camembert. "Still thinking about it huh?" he quipped in between chews.

"I'm planning to ask Nathalie about it."

"You sure she'll talk? I don't even think she can smile."

The blond chuckled at his comment. "You have a point there, but she's easy to corner."

"And tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow I'm just gonna enjoy myself."

Marinette flopped onto her bed the instant she reached her room. Tikki, her pink kwami, flew out of her purse to land on her head. "You okay Marinette?" she asked while still wearing the tiny clothing her partner had made for her to stay warm.

"What am I doing?"

"Nothing's wrong with your idea."

She stared ahead and found herself with only the wall and her pillow as the view before her. "I feel like I'm confessing if I make this and give it to him..."

"In a way yes, but it can still be pulled off as a gift to a friend."

She moaned in frustration while planting her facing onto the bed.

"By the way, shouldn't you go talk to your parents about the hangout?"

Instantaneously, the cobalt blue haired girl sat up in realizing that she'd forgotten and hurriedly went downstairs to ask her parents. "Mama? Papa?"

"Yes, Marinette?" replied her father, a large bulky man with warm hugs, who was at the register this time. "Oh, um-I wanted to ask if it was okay if my friends come by here during a hangout tomorrow. Just for lunch though, if that's okay..."

Her father laughed. "My dear daughter, but of course. You're so busy with school and other activities that we worry about you when you're alone in your room all day."

She chuckled shyly. If only you knew the half of it.

Her mother appeared from the kitchen before she was told the current situation, and smiled. "It's no trouble Mari. What's the ocassion?"

"Oh! Righhht! Um-well Nino wanted to show Adrien how to have fun in the snow, so he asked me and Alya to help. I just thought that-well-since he enjoyed the last time food her-dohhh..."

"Sure, we'll whip something up for everyone."

She was doing a facepalm when her reaction changed to expressing joy at the agreement of helping her. "You guys are the best!" she proclaimed as she gave them a hug before her reaction change to recalling another detail of the event. "Ah! Could you please make some hot chocolate in the morning? Alya and I thought it'd be a good thing to give to everyone once it got a bit too cold out."

Her father smiled. "Always thinking of everyone else first."

"Will Adrien be there?"

Her composure fell apart in hearing his name and recollecting what was bothering her earlier. A flood of crimson washed over her entire face to provide the answer. And I was doing so well...Mama giggled at her reaction, but assured her that all would go fine.

Once in her room after dinner, Marinette set up her work station for her latest gift idea to her crush. Tikki took pleasure in watching her and always admired at how focused her companion could be when she was serious. "Don't forget to take a break."

Her pigtails shot down as she looked up in surprise at realizing that she shouldn't wear herself out so easily from getting in the zone of prepping the yarn for knitting and giggled nervously. Her kwami shook her head in disbelief with an affable smile.

"Are you going to stay up?"

"Mmmm...I shouldn't. Besides, tomorrow I see Adriieeen!" she squealed with joy as she spun in her chair.


	3. Chapter 3

Alya woke up with her haired disheveled before checking the time: 7:00am. Perfect. Enough time to get dressed, eat breakfast and meet Marinette at the station before heading to the park to meet up with the guys.

Her phone rang. It was Nino.

"Hey Alya!"

She rolls her eyesat how worked up he sounds. "Heeey Nino. Getting ready for today?"

"Of course girl. How often do we get to have fun without Chloe bugging us?"

"You got my text last night right?"

"Yup. That was really great of you two to plan ahead like that."

"I mean I am a genius after all."

She could hear him hold back a laugh before coughing to clear his throat. "Are you doubting me Nino?"

"Me? Doubting you?...Always..." he replied before chuckling.

"You're just asking me to hit you huh?"

"If you can."

"You're on!"

"Marinette!"

The shout from her mother nearly causes her to fall off the bed. I was sure I had set up my alarm. She checks her phone to see that she never pressed save. "Bleh."

In getting out of bed, she changed her mind multiple times on what she ought to wear before she settled on comfortable and casual with a style that still expressed her personality. Her shirt was purple with silver outlines of swirls at the cuffs of and at the bottom edge, which slightly covered the upper area of a pair of navy blue jeans that were slightly loose. The rest of her gear would be worn once she headed outside. She reached the bottom of the stairs to greet her parents, who were nearly finished in prepping the special hot chocolate. Her mother approached her with a morning hug and told her, "Around what time are you coming by with your friends?"

"Around 1:00pm."

"Well, let us know when you're on your way. Okay?"

"Yes Mama."

Her father placed his hands on her shoulders with the utmost surprising delicacy for someone so large. "Stay safe and if anything suspicious happens, you know what to do."

She kissed him on the cheek. "Yes Papa."

It was 8:00am now. It was time to head out, since they were going to a park that wasn't exactly nearby, but it was a great choice to have because of the ability to use sleds to ride down the hills. Not many tourists liked being there in the winter, so the less amount of people would make the experience all that much better for Adrien.

She blushes at that last thought.

Then, she starts to put on her snow outfit, starting with the coat. It is somewhat fitted in the tint of pale rose with thin outlines of crimson shaping different flowers from the waist down and at the cuffs of her sleeves. A large hoodie hangs from the back, has two large front pockets, and reaches down to half the length of her thigh. Her lime green gloves slide on her delicate yet strong fingers with ease before she grabs the bag with all the thermos' and leaves. "Bye Mama! Bye Papa! I'll be back later!"

Alya was already waiting for her at the station that was closest to the park when she hopped off. "Oh Alya! You're too awesome!"

The red head was proudly holding four individual sleds for them all to use at the park. As proud as she was at finding them, it hadn't been easy. She had to scavenge the storage closet like a mad woman and nearly getting crushed by so many things that hadn't be properly put away. If only you knew what I go through for you Mari.

"All set?"

Her bestie beamed at the question and nodded excitedly as she carried her bag of goodies.

"Are they on their way?"

"Yeah, Nino texted me that he just got on the train. He's not 100% sure, but he figures Adrien is probably gonna do the same to not have his gorilla following him all over the place."

Marinette gave an astonished look at how much effort Adrien was putting in to make this more personal. Then again, he never got to experience many fun things so privately, especially with how several people have tried to take advantage of such a vulnerable side of him like Chloe and Lila. Without realizing it, she sighs.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh-uh-nothing! I'm fine."

Alya quickly figured what had crossed her thoughts. You're too easy to read. "We'll make sure it's the funnest he's had in the snow that he'll want to do this everyday!"

Mari nodded in agreement with increased motivation.

A light snowfall begins as they reach being 1/4 from their destination.

It seems like they're the first ones there, but after several minutes they hear Nino calling out to them, wearing a red coat with blue gloves and black jeans. He was also carrying 2 sleds, but they weren't individual. He gets close enough to see Marinette turning cherry red all over. He laughs. "It was really all I could find, but I figured it'd e fun anyway," he enlightens with a casual smirk. Alya gives him a thumbs before she grins mischievously.

"Oh crud," he utters before he drops the stuff and his backpack as his girlfriend chases him around the entrance of the park. Marinette is at a loss before she starts laughing at how childish they.

"Hold still!"

"Why would I? It's like letting you win."

"Exactly."

"Nope!"

"You're gonna pay for challenging me."

I always forget how she takes those seriously, even if she is being playful...


	4. Chapter 4

Adrien had the day off today, buuuuut...it still felt like trying to escape jail whenever it came to going to places without supervision. By this point, he was a master of sneaking out of his house, considering the career he was part of and happily jumped around Paris as Chat Noir with his trusty baton to where the others were waiting for him.

He easily landed on a rooftop that allowed the others to be spotted prior to jumping down into the alleyway and detransforming. Plagg dashed into his backpack filled with warmth as he headed over to meet up with everyone. Mari spotted him first. Seeing him in his copper colored coat, lime green gloves and his unmistakable blue scarf made her flush red all over, causing the other two to pause in their game and follow her gaze. "Hey Dude! You made it!" exclaimed Nino as he came over to give his best friend a hug. "Wouldn't miss this for anything."

"Perfect bromance you too, but let's go and find a good spot now."

"Oh! Now you're being an adult?"

"Psh. We aren't done yet Nino!" she affirmed as she walked in with her gear and dragged her spaced out bestie in pigtails along, until she picked what she presumed was the best location in the park. Her boyfriend agreed and they soon started placing their stuff on a bench nearby. Marinette had set up a small hiding place for Tikki in a larger purse and set it down carefully as Adrien did the same with his bakcpack.

"Alright, so Adrien?" called out Alya in her grey coat with some tiger-like strips, while her lemon yellow gloved hands positioned casually at her hips. "Anything you wanna start with?"

"I'm good with anything. You're all the guides."

"What's usually the first thing to do after some snowfall?" rhetorically asked Nino as he held his closed hand to his face in thought.

"Snow angels!" exclaimed Mari, who had been momentarily distracted from failing to make a sentence and covered her mouth in surprise at how childish she sounded.

Alya teased her. " **WELL** , since you provided the answer. Then show him how it's done."

You two are being so relentless today.

"W-w-what?" she stared in surprise. Alya _I thought you loved me...Okay, gotta focus! Teaching is your best method to talk to him either way without failing at grammar...at least not like usual..._ "Well-um when there's a lot snow piled up, you can do one of two ways:," she started as she held up two fingers, "Fall backwards into the ground or sit down and then lie back. Since it's your first time, I think the latter would be best." He proceeded to sit down. "Like this?" She nodded. "Yup, and just lie back." He did before she stood above him and fought off a blush at how awkward and new this was to her. _Focus Mari!_ "Okay, the next part may sound odd," she began when she got questionable looks from Nino and Alya, "Okay okay, it _will_ sound ridiculous, but you're gonna wave your arms, and you legs up and down against the snow like a corkscrew opener for wine," she finished with a tinge of disbelief as to what she just said.

The brown haired boy and his red head companion burst into laughter, while Mari struggled to not smack then with some snow. Nino managed to say something. "Sorry Mar," he starts between some snickers, "You're comparison-ahahaha-was just-just-just so great,-ahaha haha haha-we couldn't help it."

"Uhuh...suuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrre," she replied as she stared at them with incredulity before rolling her eyes at their immaturity. _Well, they're having fun regardless_. In being distracted, none had noticed that the blond had followed her instructions, "Am I doing this right?"

She quickly turns to look and lambently smiles while holding up 2 thumbs. "Perfect!" He blushes slightly at her comment before he decides to get up as the other two make their own angels through the first way Marinette mentioned earlier. "And voila! A snow angel!" she announces as she points to the ground where he just was. An awe escapes his mouth as he gazes with captivation at what he's made, all the while as the term finally makes sense to him. She watches her crush _. I've only seen him like this with my father's quiche. I wonder what other things he's missed because of the career and home life he has..._

"Marinette?"

The cobalt blue haired girl didn't realize that her mind had left for a moment. "Huh? Oh sorry Adrien-I was-uh-just stuff think-I mean thinking about stuff!" she almost shouts before she feels the blush creep up her face for messing up on her words yet again.

 _Did I say something wrong?_ He tried to ease the awkwardness. "I was saying thank you for teaching me this," he said with an honest smile, which melted her to oblivion.

From behind they could hear Nino and Alya laughing as they splashed some snow at each before coming over in seeing that the lesson had ended. "Ooooh well done Mari! You make an excellent teacher," complimented the brown haired boy as Alya nodded in agreement.

She giggled slightly out of shyness.

Her bestie got funnily serious. "Time to learn the art of snowballs!"

"There's an art to this?"

"Of course there is Nino! Now watch closely Adrien," she ordered as he came within range to watch her work. The red head grabbed a small amount of snow and slowly added on more pieces as she did rolled it around and did her best to compress it into the shape of a sphere. "Haza!"

Adrien was intrigued, but slightly dumbfounded by her method. "Could you show me again please?"

"Of course, and it's no trouble at all. I'll do it slower this time," she clarified and she did. Her partner then came over. "If you want a different perspective Adrien, this is how I do it," commented his best friend as he took a giant amount of snow in his hand and twisted his cupped hands around it to shape out the sphere. "Careful with the compression. If it's too much, it'll hit more like a rock."

"Got it," he understood as he tried making his own snowball. Marinette stared as he did his first attempt, which sadly crumbled. "I think I'm missing something."

He tries again, but ends up with the same result. Nino and Alya repeat what they did, but he's still struggling as he continues attempting. The red head takes a peak at Marinette. Come on Marinette, find out what's missing and take the chance to help him!

The cobalt blue haired girl observes with such focus that she forgets it's her crush when she approaches him and says, "Hold on a sec," to which he obeys and gently, she closes up his fingers more that are cupping some snow. "Try now," she states with steadiness as he proceeds with sudden success at it not falling apart. "Wow Marinette! That was amazing!" he praises as he inadvertently hugs her. It's only then that reality hits her: _OHMYGODADRIENISHUGGING MEOHMYGODHESACTUALLYHUGGINGMEANDIDONTEVENKNOWHOWIGOTTHISFAR!_ He follows: _OhcrudwhatdidIjustdo?!_ *Insert internal facepalm here* "Sorry! I didn't mean to surprise you like that. I just got caught up in the moment."

As dazed as she was, her happiness in seeing him be himself returned her concentration in not messing up her words, "No-no-no-no-no by all means please enjoy yourself. It's what we all came here for...To teach you that..."

Even Tikki and Plagg laugh at how silly their partners look with the sudden awkwardness through the peepholes from their hiding places. Cheese filling his side and cookies filling hers.

He smiled. _You're too considerate. I really don't know how lucky I am sometimes to know you_.

"Yup that's the whole reason for this hangout," interjected Nino before Alya adds, "And we'll make sure no regrets happen around here."

"You're too kind guys."

"Of course dude. Now we're gonna show you how to make the ultimate snowman before we have an awesome snowball fight!"

They all pitched in gathering snow for their masterpiece and debated on how to art up his fabulous face with the rocks and sticks they found as make up. Marinette preferred symmetry, Alya wanted wild, Nino wanted cool, and Adrien, well, he was too busy laughing to make a preference, except that it just had to at least look like a face.

It looked evil as he put it. The eyes were symmetrical, the nose was eerily shaped and the smile it had was crooked. "He should be purr-etty much done," threw in Alya as they settle with what they put together. Marinette pointed an accusative finger at her, "Oh don't you dare!"

She sticks her tongue out as she dashes off.

"Get back here!" shouts her bestie playfully as she preps a snowball while running and stops to aim at Alya. Although her posture is good, her location isn't because she slips onto one of the sleds. Nino and Adrien try to save her from sliding down the hill, but they miss her by a few seconds as bewilderment spreads across her face in going backwards. *Insert sweatdrop behind their heads here*

Nevertheless, she reaches the bottom safely, making them sigh in relief as she aims again. The crimson head doubts she'll succeed with her klutziness just now, but as the thought passes her mind, she's hit dead on. On the left side of her face. "Ha!" victoriously yells Mari as she points at her success in a dramatic pose. Both boys "Oooooh!" at the counterattack and guffaw at Alya's face of surprise.

They're too caught up in the moment to see the snowballs she throws at each of them. "See Nino? Told you I'd hit you."

"Hey! That doesn't count. I wasn't ready."

"Nor was I, but Marinette succeeded anyway."

"She has a point there man."

"You're siding with her?! I thought we were buds Adrien!"

His best friend laughs.

 _Dude, you're no help today..._

Alya chortled. "Cut the drama Nino and fight me with a real snowball fight!"

"I will get my vengeance!"

"Idiot," she taunts with her arms crossed and a mischievous smirk just as Marinette climbs back up to the top with the sled. "I'm surprised you're participating so much Alya. You normally film and take pictures."

She takes pride in comment. "I need a break sometimes, but that doesn't mean I don't keep it ready to use."

 _Thought so._

When she turns, the guys have gone to hide and make snowballs to throw her way as well as at each other. "Alya, you're so slow," teases Nino before he snickers as he strikes his bud too. Adrien rolls his eyes at how he enjoys provoking his girlfriend. He hears someone dash by the tree they're at and thinks it's Alya when he aims and pitches the ball. A gasp is heard as his throw is dodged by none other than Marinette. He's confused as to how she could have reacted so quickly, but she's momentarily distracted by Alya trying to strike her, providing him the opportunity to throw again. It hits her at the top of her left shoulder this time. She protests as she tosses one at him. He avoids the attack, but Nino takes the damage and scolds Adrien for letting him be struck by the enemy, to which he replies with "Aren't we fighting for ourselves?" Nino has this "I'm so done" face on him as he ruthlessly splashes snow onto him.

Mari and Alya giggle at their quarrel. "Does this mean they've lost?"

"Oh, we're just getting started!" declared the blond assertively as he stood ready.


	5. Chapter 5

Nino grinned and dodged as the red head shot several white spheres at him. He took cover again by a bush that was a few feet from her before he targeted with his own set of snowballs. Marinette wasn't sparred either, but she counterattacked whenever she had an opening. The girls were slowly getting cornered before they dashed in different directions. Nino and Adrien agree to switch chase before switching back, which led to Marinette against Nino and Alya against Adrien. Regardless of how well one could aim or throw, everyone was cracking up and enjoying themselves.

The cobalt blue haired girl is just about to target Nino when he suddenly switches with Adrien and it's hilarious how their alter-ego skills come into play. Considering she's lacking her yoyo and he his baton, they niftily avoid and strategically attack each other as if in sync. Even the other two that are determined to beat each other, end up exhausting themselves and stop to stare at scene unfolding before them. They start making bets as to who'll get drained first.

"I'm betting 20 on my man Adrien all the way."

"30 says both are even. I've never seen her as sporty, but my god look at her reflexes."

"You've got a point there, but I don't know how that can be explained."

 _Does this relate to your secret Mari? The one you can never tell me?_

The lingering fighters are starting to pant, but both remain too stubborn to give in.

"Getting tired?"

"Of course not."

"Really?"

" I may not be better than you in video games, but sparring is my forte."

 _I'd say I know because I know your schedule, but uh-not gonna say that out loud._ "Guess I'm at a loss."

Nino doubted her words after she somersaulted earlier to dodge a hit.

Adrien was in agreement. _She's different when she's competitive like this. How many sides of her have I never known? Plagg's probably chortling right now._

He is indeed.

The few seconds of rest is enough to recuperate some energy for another round of assaults and eludes, while the brown haired boy and his crimson head companion stare in awe at their endurance and determination. It's only when they're having a stare down that they both collapse to the ground in laughter at how serious everything had been. The tiredness kicked in and they lied back on the snow as Alya and Nino came over with smirks of disbelief on their faces. "You're both idiots," declared the red head with absoluteness. "Man, that was so intense. You guys being so stern made it all the more so," added the brown haired boy as his partner nodded in agreement.

Adrien grins. "Well, there's a first for everything right?"

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh! That's too much of an understatement. You both looked like pros out there."

"Don't forget Nino. You owe me 30."

He moaned at having lost the bet.

Marinette laughed before she finally felt like sitting up again. "Think it's time for that Alya?"

Her smirk gave her the answer. Nino grinned along.

 _I'm so lost right now._

The cobalt blue haired girl is helped up before she hurries over to the bench where their stuff is located to retrieve the bag she brought. She returns as the rest are approaching her and majestically she shows the contents. "Tada! My parents' special hot chocolate!" she proclaimed merrily as she passed them out. Her willpower kept her klutziness at bay long enough to hand Adrien one while her face was painted sunset red. It returned as she was grabbing her own when it slipped out of her hands towards the ground, but Nino thankfully caught it and handed it back. "You alright Mari?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine-"

"Her klutziness is magical Nino."

"Alya!"

Her bestie giggles. "Sorry I had to Mar."

Adrien chuckled before he opened the top of the thermos to take a sip. His eyes widened in astonishment at the taste of such a liquid. All the care and love put into it could be felt with the uniqueness of the flavor that it all seemed too good to be encountering such a wonderful experience with such caring people surrounding him.

"Isn't it amazing?" probed the crimson haired girl as she took another sip from her own. He was speechless as he forced himself to nod with his eyes still wide.

Marinette was too busy observing him to say anything.

Nino cackles at his expression. " Dude your face is so freakin' priceless. Like god just gave you a gift or something."

"Hey! Spare me the tease!"

"Nah. You're just as good a target as Marinette."

Alya can feel the glare coming from her best friend, but it doesn't hinder her composure.

"Mari," calls the brown haired boy as she turns to him, "You sure you're not adopted? 'cause your parents are too good to be true. "

"Niiinoooo, not you too!" she protests with one of her arms straightened out at her side with her fist clenched as the other holds her thermos. Alya comes closer to give her a pat on the head. "There there."

The cobalt haired girl simply sips away at her drink while she has an "I'm so done" face on her.

 _You're both mean..._ But she was able to watch Adrien, which made the moment not so bad.

They all enjoyed their refreshments as they took in the scenery with the specks of white falling everywhere. Even though silence was present, the sounds of their breaths gave it more life than a deathly stillness. The sun was partially shining through the clouds blocking it and even though they had all been roving about all over the place moments ago, it was still cold enough to enjoy the drinks as they marveled at how things were going so well today.

Nino spoke up first. "Hey guys, after this, wanna use the sleds and then head off for some lunch?"

His best friend seemed to ponder on the idea and probed, "Where would we go to eat?"

Marinette blushed as she recalled how awkward it was to ask her parents on if it they would be willing to help out. "We've got it all figured out," she heard Alya declare. "You wanna tell him girl?"

"Oh-uh-um-we-well we-kinda-figured like you-figure you like-figured you'd like-at eat place-I mean-um-err-uh-that you'd like to eat at-place-erm-um-my place," she said feeling like she probably didn't make a lick of sense *Insert internal facepalm here for all, except Adrien* _Okay Mari, just try and focus. You were fine...SOMEHOW...till now...ugh-HOWDOI-ergh!_ Thinking back to his expressions from them succeeding in teaching him how to have fun in the snow, calmed her down some. She took a deep breath and held her hands close to her chest as she spilled the next phrases from her mouth, "You looked really joyful with my father's quiche and I know that your life as a model often denies you the enjoyment of such foods, so I want you to continue having such positive experiences whenever possible."

Her heart was so purely poured out through those words that not even Nino or Alya could tease her about it.

Despite the grammatical mistakes in her explanation, Adrien was able to comprehend her, however, he was left dazed at her last statement as she looked down at the ground anxiously, worried that maybe she'd said too much.

From afar, Tikki smiled. _I'm cheering for you Marinette!_

 _I hope-ugh-maybe I-I-I-I shouldn't have said anything-oh my god-I feel like I confessed or something-please don't think I'm weird-please-_ Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt someone embrace her tightly as if she'd been missed. "Thank you so much for all that you've done for me. I really...I really couldn't have asked for more from such a great friend," recognized Adrien in a soft voice.

He's so close that she can hear his heartbeat from his neck and feel his warmth...It mesmerized her so that she felt it was all just a dream. There was no way her luck was ever this good in one day.

Even so, she wanted to stay like that all day and was sure she'd die happy.

Meanwhile, Alya and Nino were secretly taking pictures at the cuteness of the situation. They hid their phones when the blond took notice of them and called them over. "Don't think I've forgotten how awesome you two are. Bring it in!"

"'bout time you said something!"

"Did I hurt your feelings Alya?"

She gave Adrien a look of "As if!"

Nino laughed. "I've been waiting to join in. We need to have a huddle after all!"

"Really Nino?"

"Best and coolest way to embrace man."

"Remind me again how we're best friends?"

"Our Bromance was fate!"

"Yeah...sure..."

"A pair of idiots is what you both are," chimed in the crimson head before the boys laughed. Mari took a few seconds to recover from her daze, but she managed enough energy to shift her position for their group hug. She was still next to her crush, but the sensation was different this time. It was as if for several seconds in that short instant of before: he recognized her as something more. _. . . 'MLOSINGMYSANITY._

She felt a pat on the head and knew it was Alya trying to comfort her, which helped.

"We look like we're trying to hatch a plan for a touchdown."

"Shut up Nino."

"Aw come on, you know you're thinking it too!"

His best friend scrunched up his face in wonder with a "Hm..." escaping his lips before he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I can see it."

"Finally you side with me!"

"I never betrayed you."

"Don't you freakin' start. I will tackle you to the ground."

The girls laugh at their bickering.

"Wanna try me?"

"You're still a rookie in the snow."

"Maybe not for long."

"Oh it's on bro."

"Totally."

 _Jeez, they never stop do they?_


	6. Chapter 6

I'M REALLY SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG! (OR AM I?)

My delay this time was a mixture of me getting dragged into another fandom haha (Voltron: Legendary Defender) *Insert sweatdrop here*, school, and work. However, I haven't forgotten this fic at all, I've just been trying to find the time go over what I have written at times along with typing up more stuff to the chapter that follows after this lol.

Thank you again for your patience and I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

* * *

"Let's settle this with a sled race boys."

"But imaginary football would've been great."

"Yeah!"

Mari giggled.

"I oughta just marry you off on the two person sled then, if your bromance is so strong."

"Hm...I can live with that," answered Nino with a "I have no regrets" grin.

"Nino!"

"Serves you right Alya."

"I will make you take that back Marinette!"

"Make me!" she proclaimed as she made a face at her. Her bestie held back. "Our race will decide our friendship status."

 _Yeeesh that was harsh._

"This is turning out a lot like Mario Kart," noted the blond as they all broke apart their hug and walked over to the bench to put away their thermos' before his buddy went to snatch the stuff needed.

"Oh my god your right!" realized Mari as she made a face of "I never would've noticed."

"Dude, I agree," called out Nino as he returned from shaking off the snow on the sleds. "At this rate, our friendship may be forever destroyed," he predicts dramatically with a sad shake of the head.

The gang couldn't help but laugh at the scenario and soon discussed how the winner would be decided.

"Best out of 1."

"Booooriiiiiing!"

"Fine...Out of 2?"

"Nino man, we gotta make this challenging."

"Okay, okay how about out of 5?"

"That might work, but that doesn't give much chance of a fair fight."

Adrien had to hold back showing his usual Chat Noir chesire grin.

"Then maybe out of 10? It's more even that way."

"Aw Mar, you're so cute with your symmetry," praised Alya as she hugged her best friend lovingly. "Ohhhh you love me now?"

"I always do, but that doesn't mean I can't have a competition with you when the chance arises."

"Uhuh...suuuuuuuuure."

"Well, guess it'll be the most out of 10."

They quickly picked a good untouched spot of the hill and positioned themselves by their sleds. The end point at the bottom of the hill was a line made out of extra sticks they had from building their snowman earlier. By now it was nearly 12pm.

Anxiety gnawed at the air.

"Ready..."

"Set..."

"And..."

"GO!"

White powder sprayed the sky and the cool wind caressed their faces with strong affection as their sleds zipped down the hill. Neither going straight. Everyone shouted in excitement as they awaited the first win of the decided rounds.

"Aaaaaaaaawwwww yeaaaaaaah! First win! Woo!"

"1 out of 9 so far Nino."

"Dude! Don't ruin it for me. Let me savor it before I suffer a loss."

The tension built up again as they all fought over the wins for the remaining rounds. It would've been smooth sailing if weren't for the bumps that they couldn't always avoid, which kept sending them flying all over the place like someone playing skeeball. At one point Adrien crashed into Nino from his left before Alya diagonally struck at Marinette's sled from behind. Marinette followed on the third run with crashing into Adrien from the side and sliding on just as Nino cut in to split them, leaving them struggling to gain back control of their sleds. Alya targeted Adrien in the fourth round by jokingly trying to flip his sled, while Nino being the dork he was crashed into her side to say hello and ask for a kiss. She gave him a peck on the cheek prior to shoving him away, watching him cry in protest as she snickered. When Nino was going to repeat his attempt on the fifth run, Marinette intervened by cutting in between Alya and him. Adrien laughed at how disoriented the other two became and got targeted by both in the following round.

The exchange of attacks and counterattacks persisted with snow dredging everyone, giving them the appearance of struggling to make frosting with powdered sugar in the kitchen. Even so, it didn't deter them from enjoying themselves in the chaotic event.

Constant rushes to the top followed from the moment each next round winner was determined. Nevertheless, even with the two heroes in disguise's endurance, it couldn't match the skills of Nino and Alya when it came to sledding. This eventually led to Marinette and Adrien to getting disqualified, leaving them to sit and watch the silly pair.

As the deciding race was about to be executed by the couple, the red haired girl caught Mari's attention for a few seconds, while her crush was distracted with dusting off some snow, to grin at her grandly: leaving her bestie confused as she slid down.

It was when Nino, now the ultimate sled winner, and Alya the second placer, didn't climb back up the hill that the cobalt blue haired girl finally comprehended what had just happened. Instantaneously, she felt the flush creep onto her face. _I was not prepared for this...I'm not prepared for this...Alya...Nino...I hate you, and love you at once..._

She pondered on what to say when Adrien mentioned, "They look happy," as he watched his buddy whisper something to his girlfriend, which made her giggle and lightly punch him in the shoulder.

Mari couldn't help but agree. "They keep each other in equilibrium."

"Are you making a physics pun Marinette?"

"UGH! I've been infected!"

He laughed at her reaction as she bowed her head in dismay onto her folded up knees. She turned slightly to take a peek at him being a kid. It made her wonder what sides of him she never got to see until now.

"Seriously though, do puns bother you?"

"Oh no-no-no-no I really enjoy them! There's just certain moments where I can't tell if it's a tease or not." _Like when Chat flirts with me and yet does the same with Ladybug, so I never know what that boy is thinking when he does that._

"Mmm."

"Soooooo, were you surprised at Nino's win?"

"Ooohhhhhh yeah, but we had fun. We'll stick to snowball fights to make sure he doesn't win again."

She chuckled at his declaration. Her smile always had a nice light to it. Gentle and warm.

He returned a joyful grin as they made eye contact.

She held back a gasp as her heart skipped several beats when her attention was abruptly caught by his scarf having unwrapped without his knowing. "Uh-um, your scarf got loose!" she found herself almost yelling. *Insert internal face palm here*

Under normal circumstances, the blond would've easily been able to fix it without difficulty, however since he suddenly recalled about yesterday, he found himself too nervous to do it right. _I can't help but feel like I'm looking more and more of a moron by the second._ Mari stared at him queerly once her blush had somewhat subsided and fumbled on the thought of offering to help him on not...

Taking a deep breath, she focused on getting out a clear sentence, "Do y-y-you need h-h-help?" _How did I even get the courage to do that?_

Of all things, Marinette least expected to observe him blush, which left her ready to write on her tombstone, "Death by the Beauty of Adrien Agreste."

Her paralyzation was interrupted when he responded quietly with, "Yes please. That would be...much appreciated," as his face contained a guilty smile with eyes struggling to make contact with hers.

Dumbfounding and understanding covered her face as she made a small affable smirk. "Sure," she responded while a tint of pink remained on her cheeks as she scooted over to analyze the problem before sitting up in a kneeled position. Her hands found both ends of the cyan scarf, where one was too short and the other too long to be considered safely acceptable. Carefully, she tugged around and quickly found the issue. With her fashion side on, speaking came out unexpectedly clear, "I think because you wrapped it from the middle," while undoing it, "that it loosened. Usually it's best to start from 3/4 of the scarf," she continued as she positioned it, " leaving the smaller amount on one end and wrapping the rest around the neck," enfolding the longer end around him once more. "It tends to stay more secure that way and can still look symmetrical." Her work done, no one would've guessed it had been a mess before.

He gazes at her with bewilderment. Her skills in details never fail to impress.

Realization then dawned on her. She just corrected someone who modeled for a living about how to wear a scarf... _OH...MY..GOD...IprobablyjustmadeafoolofmyselfsomebodyshootmenowI_ -

"That was incredible."

 _Wait-_ _ **WHAT**_ _?_

"I've been modeling for as long as I can recall, but no one ever really taught me anything about how to wear a scarf," he started as he placed a hand behind his head. "I mean I've worn plenty, but they would normally be put on by someone else and fixed for me. Plus I couldn't look down to observe or from any mirrors nearby since the angle would be bad," he added as he chuckled.

 _Technically, this scarf is also the first I've ever willingly worn, so I wanted to learn to do it on my own, and not cheat through Youtube..._

The cobalt blue haired girl struggles to get words out, but she's too shocked to make any sound at all. In a panic, she covers her face in her hands and removes them just as quickly before trying again.

Still nothing.

Unable to know what to do, she looks down in shame at ruining her bravery streak while her hands clenched into fists rest on her thighs.

" Marinette?"

 _What am I doing? Great job Mari! You just wanted to say thank you_ _ **to your CRUSH**_ _and it had to become complicated...ugh...why do I do this to myself? It's like a plague of disaster follows me whenever I'm trying to make an effort. Sometimes I wonder if my bad luck from before the Miraculous comes back randomly to ruin my day or if it's just me being a klutz. What should I_ \- She blinks in surprise when she realizes the back of gentle warm hand is on her forehead and looks up. "That's a relief," he affirms as he makes eye contact with her. "I was worried you had suddenly caught a fever or something."

Reasons to love him just keep adding to the list.

* * *

I'm still new to the subject of snow, since I've never experienced it, but I did what I could through research and imagination again (and double checking of course) XD Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or concerns, feel free to write a comment or message me on tumblr cldreality :) All help is welcome since I'm always willing to learn more about how to improve in my writing.


	7. Chapter 7

Adrien had noticed the change in her demeanor and due to his lack of social skills, he couldn't tell what the exact reason for it was. With his pure honesty, he couldn't have guessed that she was overwhelmed by the praise after profoundly feeling as if she had ultimately messed up earlier in explaining her method of wearing a scarf.

He debated getting Alya or Nino for assistance, but that would be too...

Ex-machina.

This.

This instant.

Was just between them.

And he didn't want to abscond that sensation of belonging by leaving Marinette alone.

So...

He went with what he felt was right.

The blond first tried to see if she could hear him talking to her, but she remained as she was. Lost in thought actually, but she didn't look it.

His second undertaking was waving his hand in front of her in an attempt to snap her out of her sad reverie. Still no luck (and no pun intended).

Adrien's final endeavor had him check if she was ill, which was maybe causing her lack of response, leading him to take off one of his gloves and placing the back of his hand on her forehead. When her temperature seemed normal and the bonus of her finally responding occurred, the weight of the concern was lifted and he smiled as he spoke to her.

His touch had moreover miraculously soothed her thoughts. Maybe because his own energy had transferred through to her with his good intentions.

A blush splashed across Marinette's face as she forced herself to keep looking at him. "I'msosorryI'msosorryI'msosorryI'msosorryI'msosorry! I-I-I just-thought I-I-I h-h-had gone out of line, s-s-so..." she trailed off, struggling to find the terms to express her sensation.

It was then that he finally understood what her reaction had been. Maybe too well. Since he often encountered this situation with his father. _Is this why she's awkward around me? That she feels that she can't speak to me as an equal? Or is it for another reason?_ Either way, he couldn't leave her with such a sad look on her face. "Heeeey," he started as he held out his hands pleadingly, "There's no need to be sorry. We're friends after all, right?"

His words surprise her, yet she smiles and nods with newfound confidence.

She takes the moment to wipe of some snow from her hair before putting her hoodie up to shield it from the heavier fall that just began. He follows her example and they gaze at the white powder as it twinkles from the sunlight.

From afar, their kwamis are also awing at this snowfall. It makes even Plagg forget his precious cheese for several seconds before he devours it as Tikki shakes her head in disbelief.

Nino and Alya had stopped too to stare and were happily giggling and saying likely adorable things to each other, prior to taking out their phones to take some selfies and record some of the lovely scenery.

The cobalt blue haired girl soon stared up to feel some of it against her face. "Have you-erm-have you...ever tasted snow A-Adrien?"

"Never actually..." _Modeling makes something so simple so hard to do._

 _Something I can teach!_ "It's easy. Just look up and hold out your tongue till a snowflake lands on it. You'll look silly, but I think it's worth it," she explained as she did so before he did the same. Several instances passed as they observed the serene weather. "Hey! I cauwth awn!" he exclaimed excitedly before she laughed with her tongue still sticking out, just as one landed on it. "Mih twoo!

They took their time to let it melt in their mouths before swallowing.

"So...what do you think?"

"Mmm...It's like shaved ice with something similar to a metallic flavor," he replied with a carefree grin on his face.

His childish side makes her momentarily forget about failing at saying a sentence, "Can't argue with that description." Their attention soon focused on the scenery before them, the sky paled with light grey clouds, immense trees with all their branches struggling to catch all the snowflakes, and some sightings of squirrels and waxwings moving across their view as the wind gently caressed their faces.

Adrien silently lied on his back to stare back at the sky before he looked to his right and spotted the two person sleds, then to his left at Marinette with a devious grin. "Wanna splash in on those two?"

"You wouldn't dare," she protests, watching them, but there's a hint of mischief in her tone. However she fails to realize that he's not referring to the individual sleds.

"I can't always be the good boy everyone sees in the magazines." _Oh crud! Did I say too much?_

The statement gets her attention from how it sounds similar to a black cat she knows, but the instant she looks at him, she feels her heart in her throat as her inquisitiveness is immediately forgotten at the rate her regret settles in from looking. His kiwi green eyes have a fun intensity to them, which are complimented by the jovial smirk at his mouth.

 _THISKIDISGOINGTOLITERALLYBETHEDEATHOFMESWEAR. THIS CANNOT BE REAL. Nope not real. NOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPE_...It took everything in her power to say the next few words, anxiety obvious in them. Her face probably permanently red now. "R-r-real now?-I-er-uh-R-Really now?"

He immediately got up and grabbed the 2 person sled, which when Marinette caught sight of, she felt the deadness of her brain steadily increase. She feared she'd be paralyzed from having seen him look so handsome with such an expression, but when she took another peek at him, his childish side was beaming with excitement and her desire to keep him happy broke her immobilization.

When he had it positioned in the right place, he beckoned her with his hand for her to sit at the front. "After you Marinette."

She smirked at how much of gentleman he could still be, even if he was about to prank his friends. "You sure?"

"Definitely."

"Alr-r-right then," she responded and took a seat. _Alya's gonna hate me for sure._

When he positioned himself behind her, he kept one foot off the sled to keep them place. "Ready?"

The cobalt blue haired girl could feel the blush on her face become extremely red as she struggled to accept being on a 2 person sled with Adrien. "Yeah."

He smirked and double checked on his aim. "Here we go," he warned her as he pushed off with his foot and returned it to the sled as it went down.

What they didn't plan for was the bump that sent them flying halfway to their destination. Their perplexed faces were priceless, but they recovered quick enough to hold fast and carry on with their dorky mission. It arriving towards them, Alya and Nino happened to turn around from taking a selfie with curious expressions that soon turned to flabbergasted at what was going on just as they got covered in a heap of snow.

"Hi!" greet the culprits as they shamelessly wave. "You two are the worst!" exclaim the red head and brown haired boy. Then, Marinette and Adrien get splashed with white powder in seconds, but persist to feign innocence. "What was that for?" asks Adrien with a smirk before Marinette claims, "It's not like we **MEANT** to cover you in snow."

"Shut up dudes and let us bury you in your graves."

"Me-owch man."

Marinette is too busy laughing to catch on what her crush just said.

While the blond willingly takes on the shower of snow, Nino looks over to his girlfriend to signal her about the reign of the sled being in reach. She ponders for a moment and signals back that on the count of 3 they'd snatch it and drag the sled **EVERYWHERE**.

One...

Alya snags one end as she places a knee on the ground, remaining there while "gathering" more snow.

Two...

Nino bends over to "make" a snowball to aim at the idiots.

Three...

The conniving couple make eye contact with matching mischievous grins.

 **GO!**

They dash off so fast both Adrien and Marinette yelp in surprise, the cobalt blue haired girl finding herself clinging to her crush for dear life as he grips the sides of the sled like the feline that he is.

It's Mari who yells first, "ALYA! I'M NOT SORRY!" The blond's laughter is quickly felt if not heard right after she makes that statement.

"Y'ALL DESERVE IT!"

"NINO IS THE BROMANCE WEDDING STILL ON?!"

"50/50!"

"CAN YOU MAKE IT 60/40? AS IN MORE LIKELY OF HAPPENING!"

"ALYA I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU!"

"IF YOU DON'T LIVE THROUGH THIS, MAYBE!"

"AAAAWW!"

Marinette giggles at the boys.

"WELL, I REJECT YOUR LOVE MAR!"

"BUT WE HAD A CONNECTION ALYA!"

"NOT ANYMORE SISTER!"

It was then Adrien's turn to chuckle at the girls.

The ride was as concerning as it was fun. Concerning because they had no idea what the couple had in store for them. Fun because well...who didn't like an adventure from silly close friends?

The snowfall increased with each passing moment, making it difficult to determine where the red head and where the brown headed boy were leading them to. So of course, they only noted too late their end destination as they saw the two let go of the reigns with one last pull towards their end point: a HUGE pile of fresh snow, making the crash all the more grand with how none of the flakes had had enough time to settle yet.

Nino and Alya cackled at the shocked faces the vigilantes had plastered on their faces right before the epic collision. So much so that they were bent over trying to catch their breath before Alya took out her phone with Nino just in time to watch the dorks rise as if from the dead, with the dramatic spread out hands, clawing at the ground in scrambling to get out of their snowy graves.

The white dust had gotten EVERYWHERE, yet as Adrien began wiping it off he decided to use the opportunity of the metaphor by lying back on the snow. Everyone had question marks on their faces. Marinette especially, since she was right next to him. _Is he going to make another snow angel?_

Consequently, he sticks out his arms straight, hands bent downwards, and sits up as he shouts dramatically, "I MEOWRISE!"

The gang bursts into a giant guffaw to where their abs are hurting.

"Adrien, go-o-o-o-o ba-a-ack down that grave," struggles to say Alya through laughter, "a-a-and neve-er return."

"Dude, I'll get you a shovel too."

"Hey! What about us?!"

"Wedding's off because you survived."

"Oh come oooooooonnn-"

"You two are beyond ludricious."

The boys turn to Marinette. "I know what it must be!" declares Nino as he holds up his index finger very knowingly. "She's envious of our bond."

"Oh my god...stop."

"That train left the station before it could be stopped Mar."

"Nino..." states the blond sincerely in finally standing up to see his friend slightly confused. Regardless, the brown haired boy recovers and responds with, "Adrien..." through an ever serious tone. "Will our bromance live on?" asks his best friend in holding out his hand.

Nino extends his own to connect with Adrien's and replies with, "Of course Buddy. It'll be everlasting," before pulling him into a dramatical embrace.

Alya is snickering at them and at her best friend's facepalm of disbelief at the situation.

Mari soon gets up wipes some of the snow that had engulfed her before thinking that it was time to retreat back home, but stumbles on how to bring up the subject. Alya comes over to nudge her casually and says, "I've got this."

 _Huh?_

"So here's the plan, we'll leave you two here and me and Mari we'll get a nice hot meal for lunch. Deal? Deal." she proclaimed as the morons make a theatrical gasp at her cruelty before she's walking away and casually dragging a bewildered Marinette along with her. The two chortle at her lost expression before they end their hug and make an effort catch up, bringing along the two individual sleds and the two man sled.


End file.
